Romney is now a 'birther'.

joseph brand · 24-08-2012 09:40PM #1

“Ann was born in Henry Ford Hospital, I was born in Harper Hospital. No one’s ever asked to see my birth certificate; they know that this is the place that we were born and raised,” he said.

And here I was, thinking that this issue was put to bed, except for some crackpots who can't/ won't get over it. Has he met Orly Taitz?

So, he's a mormon AND a birther! What's next? Stories of lizard people? He could yet turn out to be worse than palin. Give it time.

President Obama’s campaign was not impressed. “Governor Romney’s decision to directly enlist himself in the birther movement should give pause to any rational voter across America,” said spokesman Ben LaBolt.

The good side is; Romney is making a fool of himself.
The bad side is; he's insulting the intelligence (or lack there of) of voters and spreading ignorance.

Duck Soup · 24-08-2012 10:15PM

Oh dear. This just reeks of desperation. The Romney campaign has been on the back foot pretty much all summer; the Ryan bounce was zero; the lead-in to their convention is the Akin clusterfcuk. It kind of spits in the face of Romney's own rhetoric of last week, when he complained about campaigning of 'hate' and 'divisiveness'.

But no one should be terribly surprised. Even as Romney was talking about raising the debate, he was running three separate Mitt-approved TV spots about Obama dropping the workfare requirement for welfare payments [a claim Politifact judged to be a flat out lie].

It's dogwhistles. Sail as close to the "He's a furriner/He's handing out free loot to his black base" winds as you possibly can, and then throw your hands up in the air and exclaim "Racebaiting? I'm sure I don't know what you mean."

The electoral strategy is now crystal clear. Bet everything on white. Take big chunks out of the various ethnic votes with the voter suppression measures in the battleground states and lock up as much of the white vote as humanly possible. It's almost a throwback to the Nixon-to-Dubya era Southern Strategy campaigns.

Here's Romney cracking his birther comment today in Michigan:

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/24/romney-no-one-has-ever-asked-to-see-my-birth-certificate/comment-page-17/

And here's a discussion of it. Note Martin Bashir's observation that there are 7 birthers up for speaking slots at the Republican convention next week.

http://video.msnbc.msn.com/martin-bashir/48783257/#48783257

Mr.Micro · 24-08-2012 10:33PM

joseph brand wrote: »

And here I was, thinking that this issue was put to bed, except for some crackpots who can't/ won't get over it. Has he met Orly Taitz?

So, he's a mormon AND a birther! What's next? Stories of lizard people? He could yet turn out to be worse than palin. Give it time.

The good side is; Romney is making a fool of himself.
The bad side is; he's insulting the intelligence (or lack there of) of voters and spreading ignorance.

He is a disaster and could be the next President, as common sense does not always prevail in the US. He is so gaffe prone, a double for Stan in cartoon series "american dad". What is it with Republicans, that stupidity and arrogance are part of the package. Next he will be saying, has anyone noticed that Obama is not white....he is black,lol. Come on Obama, the last thing the US or the world needs is this guy, he probably even dyes his hair.

Atlantis50 · 24-08-2012 10:36PM

Mitt Romney making a joke about his birth certificate makes him a birther?

Obama jokes about his birth certificate on a regular basis (just look at all the youtube videos for the search 'obama jokes about birth certificate').

If any Republican refers to their own birth certificate, that makes them a birther?

An objective look at this makes the OP and the posts above utter nonsense.

Duck Soup · 24-08-2012 10:50PM

Atlantis50 wrote: »

Mitt Romney making a joke about his birth certificate makes him a birther?

Obama jokes about his birth certificate on a regular basis (just look at all the youtube videos for the search 'obama jokes about birth certificate').

If any Republican refers to their own birth certificate, that makes them a birther?

An objective look at this makes the OP and the posts above utter nonsense.

Say Sting and George Michael are up for a Grammy and in the weeks leading up to the awards Sting makes a joke that "Well, another day gone by and I haven't been caught masturbating in public toilets" is he (a) taking a sly dig at his opponent under the guise of humour or (b) just making a passing general observation about the wild and crazy things that sometime occur in Californian public conveniences?

Obama gets to crack jokes about it because he's been subject to the most vitriolic and sustained campaign of lies about his very legitimacy as an American.

If Romney really wanted to do something similarly self-deprecating he might care to crack a few jokes about blacks at the back of Mormon churches (or some Mormon magic underpants jokes), getting postcards from the tropical tax haven locations his money holidays in or how he had to throw out some homeless people from the stable his dressage horse uses. Now that's comedy.

Atlantis50 · 24-08-2012 10:54PM

So one joke about his own birth certificate makes Romney a birther?

What has Romney's consistent position all along on Obama's birth certificate and legitimacy to serve as President been?

That is the key issue to establish a pattern of 'birtherism'.

Einhard · 24-08-2012 10:54PM

Pretty desperate move, and I think anyone (hint hint Atlantis) who claims it wasn't done to cast doubt on Obama's birth place, and to pander to a fringe, is being disingenuous. However, as regards the negative ads, the Obama campaign hasn't exactly been pure as the driven snow on that front either, so I don't think Dems/liberals/Romney-haters can cast stones on that issue.

Atlantis50 · 24-08-2012 11:00PM

Einhard wrote: »

Pretty desperate move, and I think anyone (hint hint Atlantis) who claims it wasn't done to cast doubt on Obama's birth place, and to pander to a fringe, is being disingenuous. However, as regards the negative ads, the Obama campaign hasn't exactly been pure as the driven snow on that front either, so I don't think Dems/liberals/Romney-haters can cast stones on that issue.

It was a joke about his own birth certificate. It is absolutely incredible that anyone with a modicum of intelligence (who follows American politics) would believe it was a targeted attempt to appeal to birthers who despise Obama enough already that they're going to vote against him no matter what.

Maybe you will answer this question: What has Romney's consistent position all along on Obama's birth certificate and legitimacy to serve as President been?

Jame Gumb · 24-08-2012 11:05PM

Ah come on Atlantis...it's pretty clear what Romney was doing and it's bad form.

Atlantis50 · 24-08-2012 11:07PM

Jame Gumb wrote: »

Ah come on Atlantis...it's pretty clear what Romney was doing and it's bad form.

Yeah, because the birthers were unsure of how to vote in November or needed a greater reason to back Romney. This joke will get them going in favour of Romney :rolleyes:

Jane might answer the all-important question: What has Romney's consistent position all along on Obama's birth certificate and legitimacy to serve as President been?

25-08-2012 12:01AM

Again this is the typical reaction of Obama supporters on this board.

i.e Go way OTT on every utterance from Romney/Ryan/GOP and

a. proclaim that it will be the thing that finally kills their campaign

or

b. Express 'fear' that these people could get elected.

What are you all so worried about ?

Jame Gumb · 25-08-2012 12:04AM

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

Again this is the typical reaction of Obama supporters on this board.

i.e Go way OTT on every utterance from Romney/Ryan/GOP and

a. proclaim that it will be the thing that finally kills their campaign

or

b. Express 'fear' that these people could get elected.

What are you all so worried about ?

Gormless right wing idiots in control of the most powerful military machine on the planet.

Gobsh1tes who believe that God is on their side in whatever they do being in charge of said military machine.

That kind of stuff.

25-08-2012 12:11AM

Jame Gumb wrote: »

Gormless right wing idiots in control of the most powerful military machine on the planet.

Gobsh1tes who believe that God is on their side in whatever they do being in charge of said military machine.

That kind of stuff.

Yep, and Obama has a kill list.

Enjoy the Kool Aid

MadsL · 25-08-2012 12:24AM

Atlantis50 wrote: »

Yeah, because the birthers were unsure of how to vote in November or needed a greater reason to back Romney. This joke will get them going in favour of Romney :rolleyes:

Jane might answer the all-important question: What has Romney's consistent position all along on Obama's birth certificate and legitimacy to serve as President been?

Forgive me if I steal my response from prospect.org
http://prospect.org/article/romneys-birther-joke-wasnt-joke

“The governor has always said, and has repeatedly said, he believes the president was born here in the United States,” Madden said. “He was only referencing that Michigan, where he is campaigning today, is the state where he himself was born and raised.”

Right.

Now, it’s unquestionably true that Mitt Romney isn’t a birther. He knows that President Obama was born in the United States and is fully eligible to serve as President of the United States.

But that isn’t an excuse, it’s an indictment.

If Romney's position all along has been to accept Obamba was born in the United States, then it is worse, not better to be making jokes about it at this stage. Watching the video this was a ra-ra statement designed to whip up a crowd who probably have their share of birthers. Watch him lap up the cheers.

Prospect continues..

Romney’s problem, throughout this campaign, has been his inability to seal the deal with skeptical conservatives. In the primaries, this forced him to take far-right positions on issues like abortion and immigration—he endorsed personhood amendments and “self-deportation”—and in the general election, it has led him to make a huge gamble by choosing Wisconsin Representative Paul Ryan—whose plan for Medicare plan and views on reproductive rights are widely unpopular—as his running mate. If Romney were confident in his ability to win the GOP base, he would have gone with someone more moderate. But as it stands, he needed a conservative ideologue on the ticket to show his fealty to the movement.

Let's watch as Romney is forced further and further to the right in order to feel comfortable that he is "speaking to the people", and let's watch as that loses him the election.

Einhard · 25-08-2012 12:26AM

Atlantis50 wrote: »

It was a joke about his own birth certificate. It is absolutely incredible that anyone with a modicum of intelligence (who follows American politics) would believe it was a targeted attempt to appeal to birthers who despise Obama enough already that they're going to vote against him no matter what.

Maybe you will answer this question: What has Romney's consistent position all along on Obama's birth certificate and legitimacy to serve as President been?

One thing I hate about politics in particular, is how so many people are willing to ignore the very obvious because it conflicts in some way with their positions. And that is what you are doing here Atlantis. Romney believes that Obama is American; as you point out, he has publicly stated that. But by mentionng it at such a rally, he encourages those who don't believe it and panders to the the fringe of the base. I don't think it's a big deal, but neither do I believe it was just a simple joke.

golden lane · 25-08-2012 12:29AM

lots of advice from experts........i am sure they need it......

Einhard · 25-08-2012 12:54AM

Atlantis50 wrote: »

Maybe you will answer this question: What has Romney's consistent position all along on Obama's birth certificate and legitimacy to serve as President been?

Pretty certain I did answer that. I'm sure you appreciate that one can have a position on a topic, and still give occasional mixed signals on the issue. As some Democrats have stated that they believe that Romney has paid tax, but still....hint,hint etc

matthew8 · 25-08-2012 12:50PM

This is a ridiculous thread. I post on a highly-democrat board in which most people are highly sensitive about anything a republican says, not a word about this.

Memnoch · 25-08-2012 12:57PM

matthew8 wrote: »

This is a ridiculous thread. I post on a highly-democrat board in which most people are highly sensitive about anything a republican says, not a word about this.

Which proves that Romney wasn't trying to pander to birther sentiment with his ill judged 'joke.'

matthew8 · 25-08-2012 01:01PM

Memnoch wrote: »

Which proves that Romney wasn't trying to pander to birther sentiment with his ill judged 'joke.'

Believe me, if Romney was just using some tea party racist dog whistle, that board would be all over it. It's one of their favourite words. Romney was just trying to crack a joke. If it didn't come out well it's because he's not a very funny guy. Obama cracks lots of jokes at press conferences. They're pretty funny.

Memnoch · 25-08-2012 01:05PM

matthew8 wrote: »

Believe me, if Romney was just using some tea party racist dog whistle, that board would be all over it. It's one of their favourite words. Romney was just trying to crack a joke. If it didn't come out well it's because he's not a very funny guy. Obama cracks lots of jokes at press conferences. They're pretty funny.

That's your opinion. Obviously a lot of people don't see it the same way. On the one hand, Romney is very gaffe prone, so much so I'm beginning to wonder if he isn't really some kind of highly advanced alien robot.

On the other, he's now being so tightly managed as a result of previous gaffes that I doubt he'd be saying anything on a speech that wasn't prescripted.

joseph brand · 25-08-2012 01:41PM

I love being home, in this place where Ann and I were raised. Where both of us were born … No one’s ever asked to see my birth certificate. They know that this is the place that we were born and raised.

He couldn't make it any clearer that he's referencing the 'birther' issue. Forget the whole economy and healthcare stuff, this is the main issue. It needs to be sorted, . . oh wait, it is.

No doubts at all that he's pandering to racists. No doubt.

Allow me to steal a comment from Reddit:

You know what we all have been asking for though Mitt? Your f*cking tax returns to be released just like every other presidential candidate has since your FATHER made it a campaign practice! And no "it has to do with my faith" bullsh*t. Your father was a Mormon too remember and he didn't have any issue with it.

The Reps want to go back 51 years for Obama's BC. They got it. The Dems and many Reps now want to go back 3, preferably 10 years, to see Romney's tax returns. NOT happening!

Ann Romney: "We've given all you people need to know and understand about our financial situation and how we live our life".

joseph brand · 25-08-2012 01:49PM

Memnoch wrote: »

That's your opinion. Obviously a lot of people don't see it the same way. On the one hand, Romney is very gaffe prone, so much so I'm beginning to wonder if he isn't really some kind of highly advanced alien robot.

On the other, he's now being so tightly managed as a result of previous gaffes that I doubt he'd be saying anything on a speech that wasn't prescripted.

This is the part which confuses me. Who let him perform this hilarious joke? Did his advisors think it would be fine? Sure it may go down well with that particular crowd, but there are reporters there!

I reckon if someone put Todd Akin's legitimate rape comments into Romney's next speech, he'd read them, because, just like Ron Burgundy, he'll read anything you put in front of him.

matthew8 · 25-08-2012 02:23PM

That's your opinion. Obviously a lot of people don't see it the same way.

After a year of following Mitt Romney, I know just how awkward he is. He makes gaffes like this all the time. I doubt birthers will even find out about this.

Memnoch · 25-08-2012 07:03PM

matthew8 wrote: »

After a year of following Mitt Romney, I know just how awkward he is. He makes gaffes like this all the time. I doubt birthers will even find out about this.

He's not awkward, he just has no connection with or care for middle class Americans. His gaffes are actually quite telling for the most part.

'I'll bet you 20K dollars.'
'Corporations are people.'

Etc. Etc. He was born rich has lived his entire life rich with all the advantages that conferred upon him. He has no idea what it is like to truly struggle and to not have such an easy path in life. He would be absolutely the worst person possible to be president because he seems entirely devoid of genuine empathy for the people of the country.

Dave! · 25-08-2012 07:57PM

Forget the birther stuff, is Romney seriously gonna manage to get through the campaign without releasing his tax returns?! I can't believe he isn't feeling enough pressure on this. It's mad.

matthew8 · 25-08-2012 08:31PM

Memnoch wrote: »

He's not awkward, he just has no connection with or care for middle class Americans. His gaffes are actually quite telling for the most part.

'I'll bet you 20K dollars.'
'Corporations are people.'

Etc. Etc. He was born rich has lived his entire life rich with all the advantages that conferred upon him. He has no idea what it is like to truly struggle and to not have such an easy path in life. He would be absolutely the worst person possible to be president because he seems entirely devoid of genuine empathy for the people of the country.

Since when do you need empathy to be president? The worst person possible? That's the biggest piece of hyperbole I've ever seen. I think that woman who thinks there are 2 vietnams might be a bit worse. And corporations are people is not an incorrect statement at all. I don't know why stating that it's people these corporations are made up of is a gaffe, because it's absolutely true.

MadsL · 26-08-2012 06:47AM

joseph brand wrote: »

Ann Romney: "We've given all you people need to know and understand about our financial situation and how we live our life".

Did you see Ann Romney's body language when she was asked that question on NBC? Have a look here at 8 minutes in, this has been edited away but the first version I saw had Ann Romney move into the defensive hands and ankles crossed position after being relaxed with leg over knee whilst talking about her MS.

http://rockcenter.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/15/13284524-ann-romney-talks-family-finances-in-exclusive-interview-theres-nothing-were-hiding?lite

And you people. Seriously?

Memnoch · 26-08-2012 07:34AM

MadsL wrote: »

Did you see Ann Romney's body language when she was asked that question on NBC? Have a look here at 8 minutes in, this has been edited away but the first version I saw had Ann Romney move into the defensive hands and ankles crossed position after being relaxed with leg over knee whilst talking about her MS.

http://rockcenter.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/15/13284524-ann-romney-talks-family-finances-in-exclusive-interview-theres-nothing-were-hiding?lite

And you people. Seriously?

Unfortunately the republican faithful have enough irrational hatred for Obama and 'liberalism,' that they are not interested in scrutinising their own candidate to see who he really is or what he really stands for.

Permabear · 26-08-2012 11:27AM

This post has been deleted.

Memnoch · 26-08-2012 11:49AM

Permabear wrote: »

This post had been deleted.

Obama wasn't born into wealth though. He worked hard to get where he got. From his humble beginnings. In many ways he is the personification of the American dream.

Romney is now a 'birther'.

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